Sclerodoris tuberculata from Zanzibar

May 10, 2007
From: Bill Rudman

Here are some photos of Sclerodoris tuberculata I collected in Zanzibar and nearby Dar es Salaam, Tanzania in the 1970s (Rudman, 1978). The species shows a considerable range of colour and a bright red form, not illustrated in this message, was given the name Sclerodoris rubra but is just a colour form. They are very good sponge mimics, and the whitish marks on mnay specimens look like patches of sand caught in the mucous sheet often exuded by sponges to clean sediment off. As can be seen the m,iddle photo, dark pits which mimic sponge oscules are often present.

Upper: Mazzizini Bay, Zanzibar, 9 July, 1971 intertidal in sandy mud, 2 specimens 62, 50 mm long alive. Middle: Mazzizini Bay, Zanzibar, 10 August 1971,  2 specimens 37, 26 mm long alive. Lower: North Reef, Ocean Rd, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, intertidal on sponge in pool. 2 specimens 75, 50 mm long alive. 19 July 1974. Photos: Bill Rudman.

• Rudman, W.B. (1978) The dorid opisthobranch genera Halgerda and Sclerodoris from the Indo-West Pacific. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 62: 59-88.

Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2007 (May 10) Sclerodoris tuberculata from Zanzibar. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/19894

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